The World - News from Feb. 3, 1988

Soviet and Afghan troops failed to drive Muslim rebels from strongholds near the southern Afghan city of Kandahar and abandoned an offensive last month after battering the area with rockets, artillery and bombs, Western diplomats said in New Delhi. They gave no casualty figures. Rebels also are reportedly stepping up attacks on electric power facilities east of Kabul, Afghanistan’s capital, and new fighting was reported in the Shomali basin north of the city. On the diplomatic front, U.N. mediator Diego Cordovez returned to Islamabad, Pakistan, after talks with the government in Kabul. He has said little about the progress of his peace shuttle mission.